


Hands Under Your T-Shirt (Know I Think You're Awesome, Right?)

by wherehopelies



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Smut, Friends With Benefits, classic, pp3 timeline, soft losers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-23 15:18:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15609138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wherehopelies/pseuds/wherehopelies
Summary: "Emily supposes they’re friends with benefits. They haven’t talked about it, haven’t even brought up the possibility of some kind of label. Emily’s definitely attracted to Aubrey, definitely thinks Aubrey is amazing, and definitely would say yes if Aubrey officially asked her out."junksen week day 3 - fwb





	Hands Under Your T-Shirt (Know I Think You're Awesome, Right?)

Emily is certain that brushing shoulders with someone has never sent such a jolt of electricity through her at any point in her life.

But that’s what’s happening as Aubrey leans back against the headboard next to her, her body solid and present against Emily’s own.

For the past hour, she’s been thinking a lot about what Aubrey said in the hotel lobby. Something about Aubrey’s face when Emily told her she hadn’t been writing music because she was so busy lately really got to her. Maybe it was the disappointment or vague sadness or the way Aubrey had encouraged her to keep writing.

Emily feels like she let down herself and the Bellas and everyone who believed in her, especially Aubrey, at least right now, because for the past two years, Emily’s put off writing and nobody’s really taken any interest in that. Not until Aubrey anyway.

Emily’s always respected Aubrey (she seemed to have the star power and elusivity of Beyonce), but since they’ve been on this trip (all like, twenty hours of it anyway), Emily’s been thinking Aubrey is amazing.

The way she organized the whole thing and got them going in the riff-off (not that Emily thought they should have done a riff-off, but whatever). The happiness that was clear on her face because she was singing with the Bellas again.

Emily guesses they kind of have that in common, being with this group for only one year and then having to go it alone. They talked about it a bit on the plane, how excited they were to be with the girls again. And Aubrey listened to her, like she did in the lobby, as if she actually was interested and cared about Emily and her life.

She knows all the older Bellas have jobs and new lives, so Emily doesn’t really blame them for tacking her on like an afterthought, but Aubrey actually seems to genuinely want Emily to be there.

Aubrey brushes her shoulder again as Amy moves to get off the bed and go to the bathroom, and Emily flashes back to how Aubrey looked singing Shut Up and Dance earlier.

It retroactively knocks the wind out of her, making her smile and blush and get goosebumps all up her arms.

Emily doesn’t know what that’s about or why she suddenly has a huge crush on Aubrey, but as Aubrey touches her arm, asking her to pass the chocolates, Emily thinks that if this electric shock keeps running through her every time Aubrey pays attention to her, this is going to be a very confusing trip.

//

If Emily thought she’d be able to think about her feelings later and just focus on their performances, she was wrong.

And not only because they embarrassed themselves in front of DJ Khaled and everyone. No, because Aubrey is staring at her, an immense look of pride in her eyes, all because Emily suggested they go and try to smooth over everything at Khaled’s hotel.

Emily tries not to blush, but Aubrey looks so cute in her pajamas, and Emily’s in her Stacie-approved outfit, and Aubrey’s eyes keep scaling over her appreciatively. It sends a wave of warmth down her body, like she’d just swallowed the sun or something.

Besides Beca, Aubrey is the Bella whose approval means the most to Emily. She just seems so… mature and smart and determined. Emily admires her _so_ much.

At least, Emily tells herself that’s what she’s feeling as Aubrey grabs her by the wrist later and leads her and Lilly through the hotel looking for Khaled. Admiration. Because if it’s not just admiration, and that swoopy feeling in her stomach is something else, Emily’s in big trouble.

//

Emily would like to be one of those people who is really good in a crisis. She’d love to be someone who can think well on her feet and not freak out under pressure.

Unfortunately, she has never been one of those people, and she probably never will be.

“STAND DOWN!” She screams, flinging some random guitar around her head. All she can think of are the bees swarming the entire room. She prays Aubrey isn’t on fire or something and does the only thing that makes sense to her: launches the guitar through the glass balcony doors.

Pandemonium is probably an understatement for how the situation is going, but Emily thinks _maybe_ the bees are flying outside? The buzz seems to be getting quieter. She doesn’t know for sure. She can’t think properly. The overhead fire sprinklers are raining water down everywhere and the Bellas are all screaming and swatting the air frantically.

Why does this stuff always happen to them?!

//

They manage to evacuate the room and the fire department is called and the whole thing is really embarrassing. Emily can’t help but feel it’s her fault. She was the one who suggested they go find Khaled and they ended up just embarrassing themselves more.

She hovers next to Aubrey while they talk to the authorities and explain the situation. Aubrey’s clipped voice seems so sure and confident, but her hand has a vice grip on Emily’s arm.

Emily doesn’t know what to do, so she just lets Aubrey lean into her and tries to avoid touching her five new and painful bee stings.

//

The whole thing replays like a movie in her head while she showers and gets ready for bed, but she keeps getting stuck on the beginning, like a record skipping and replaying the same part.

Talking to the Colonel, Aubrey’s face when she heard her dad wasn’t going to make it, Emily grabbing her arm and trying to reassure her it would be okay. Aubrey’s eyes, disappointed and helpless as she looked at Emily and tried to convince herself it’s fine.

Then - mayhem.

Emily’s body aches with unease and sadness for Aubrey. She can’t imagine what it’s like to have parents who are too busy to support you. Her own parents are embarrassingly invested in her life. Her mom once delayed her own appendectomy just so she wouldn’t miss Emily’s dance recital.

It’s not even about her strange new potential feelings for Aubrey. It’s this inherent need she has to make sure people she cares about don’t cry. It rolls around in her stomach, this anxiety about Aubrey, until she can’t take it anymore.

She eases out of her room and down the hall, her feet padding over the carpeted floor until she’s in front of Aubrey’s door. She tentatively knocks, unsure if Aubrey’s asleep or not. It’s past one in the morning, but they’ve had an eventful night.

The door swings open and Aubrey’s standing there, once again in her pajamas and makeup free. Emily can’t read her expression, but she swears a flash of relief passes over Aubrey’s face when she sees it’s Emily.

“Hey,” Emily says softly. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Oh, yeah,” Aubrey says sort of unconvincingly. “Yes, I’m fine.”

She gives Emily a little smile, and it makes Emily’s aching grow more pronounced. Aubrey has the best smile Emily’s ever seen, even when it’s just a fraction of her usual toothy enthusiasm.

“How are you?” Aubrey asks.

Emily shrugs. “I’m okay. It’s kind of hard to wrap my head around everything, but. Yeah. I’m okay.”

Aubrey gives her a long, searching look. “Do you want to come in?”

“Oh.” Emily looks down the hall toward her own room, then back at Aubrey. “Um, okay.”

Aubrey stands back to let her in and closes the door behind them. Aubrey has all the lights but her bedside lamp off and some music is playing so quietly from her laptop that Emily can’t tell what song it is.

“Are you not tired?” Emily asks her.

Aubrey hums noncommittally. “I was just thinking and admiring the view.” She gestures with her head toward the large hotel windows, where she has the curtains open. Emily moves over to the window and peers outside. A dark mass stretches below them, lights twinkling on it here and there.

“The ocean always looks so foreboding at night,” Aubrey murmurs.

“Hm,” Emily nods. The light of a boat bobs on the waves and Emily watches it. If she turns her head, she can see the lights from the nearby street washing over the building next to theirs. It must be the street Khaled’s casino is on. Emily frowns in thought and looks back at the ocean.

She can feel Aubrey at her elbow. When she turns, Aubrey’s looking not out the window, but at her, and jitters erupt in Emily’s stomach.

“Do you ever just think about how unreal life feels sometimes?” Aubrey asks, her eyes on Emily’s.

The light’s casted half of her face in gentle shadow and Emily thinks she looks too pretty to be real. She doesn’t say that, though. “Yeah,” she murmurs instead. “All the time. Sometimes it feels like none of it should be happening at all because it’s just too weird.”

Aubrey offers her a small smile. “Sometimes I think we’re nothing more than the steps we’ve taken to get to a moment. And I pull back and it feels so… bizarre. Like I can’t remember any of the steps besides the one I’m taking right now.”

“Most of the time I don’t even know the step I’m taking while I’m taking it,” Emily laughs. “I just do and hope I don’t fall on my face.”

“Yeah, I love that about you.” Aubrey’s expression turns so fond and gentle that Emily’s breath catches. Aubrey reaches out, her fingers curling around Emily’s bicep. “I wish I could be more like that. Just go where I’m headed and not think about it at all.”

Emily’s grateful for the focus of Aubrey’s gaze, because she thinks if she didn’t have something steady holding her there, she might float away. Aubrey’s fingers are still on her arm and she’s staring at Emily so intensely that Emily can’t think.

She can only take a step and hope she doesn’t fall on her face.

She lets her free arm move up so she can touch Aubrey’s cheek. Aubrey’s eyes flick down to her lips and Emily’s fingers crawl behind Aubrey’s neck. She leans in and can feel Aubrey’s breath on her lips, shaky and gentle. She brushes their noses together.

“Don’t think about it,” she murmurs. “Okay?”

“Okay,” Aubrey whispers, and then they’re kissing, soft and curious. She feels Aubrey’s grip on her arm loosen as she slides her hands around Emily’s waist.

Emily’s entire stomach bottoms out when Aubrey pushes up on her toes to deepen the kiss. She can’t think of anything but Aubrey - the softness of her lips, the smell of her shampoo, the way she’s leaning into Emily like she can’t get enough.

Emily gasps against Aubrey’s lips when she feels Aubrey’s tongue on hers. Heat shoots through her, settling in the pit of her stomach.

Aubrey nips at her lower lip and gently pushes Emily backward. Emily lets her, thinking she’d let Aubrey lead her anywhere as long as they don’t stop kissing like this. She feels the bed behind her and eases down on it, Aubrey following.

In some faraway part of her mind, one not clouded with spontaneity and kissing and _Aubrey_ , Emily wonders what this will mean for them later, wonders if she should have kept her hands to herself and just gone to bed.

But that quiet, distant part of her mind grows quieter and farther away the longer they kiss, Aubrey’s fingers crawling under Emily’s shirt, Emily’s legs pushing between Aubrey’s.

And when Aubrey reaches up and pulls her shirt over her head, that faraway part disappears completely, almost as if it were never there at all.

//

Emily doesn’t know how long they lie there afterward, the two of them just breathing into the semi-darkness of the room, eyes roving over each other’s faces. Aubrey shifts so her cheek presses into Emily’s bare shoulder, her fingers softly trailing a path along Emily’s hairline.

Nothing in Emily wants to break this tranquil moment. She doesn’t want to be the one to push Aubrey out of this peaceful daze, ushering in some new era of awkwardness and potential regret.

She waits for Aubrey to disentangle their legs, for her to sit up and tell Emily to leave, that they have to focus on the competition and not some newfound and confusing relationship.

It never happens - Emily falls asleep before Aubrey’s breathing evens, before her fingers stop soothing a pattern into her skin, before Emily has time to feel anything other than contentment.

In the half-aware moment before sleep takes her, she swears she feels the gentle pressing of lips on her forehead, but she’s not entirely sure she isn’t dreaming.

//

Emily wakes to the jarring ding of an alarm that’s not hers.

She groans, feeling like she got about four hours of sleep, and when a leg brushes hers under the covers, she remembers that’s exactly how much sleep she got.

She freezes, her heart hammering, her eyes clenched shut because she’s afraid that if she opens them, the striking light of the new day will shatter this bubble. She takes a deep breath and finally opens her eyes.

Aubrey’s next to her, scrolling through her phone. When she notices Emily looking at her, she sets it on the bedside table.

“Morning,” Aubrey murmurs. Emily can’t gauge her tone.

“Mor - uh, mor - morning,” she yawns. “What time is it?”

“Eight thirty. We have to check out soon.”

Emily hums, trying to blink the sleep from her eyes. Her mouth feels like sandpaper and she can tell she has pretty bad morning breath. Also she’s still naked, and it’s really warm under the covers, her bare skin touching Aubrey’s. She doesn’t want to get up, wary of the cool air and the consequences of last night’s activities, both in and out of bed.

“I don’t want to get up,” Aubrey says, like she can read Emily’s thoughts.

Emily takes that as a good sign. She turns fully on her side to look at Aubrey better and what she sees makes a whole different kind of butterflies erupt in her stomach than the night before.

The curtains are still open from last night, and the sun’s splashing daylight onto Aubrey’s face. Her hair is messy in a way she’d never let it be in public and Emily thinks it’s simultaneously the cutest and sexiest Aubrey’s ever looked.

Aubrey seems quiet in the morning, soft and relaxed, so unlike the usual sharp and put-together demeanor that Emily is used to.

Emily can’t help it - she reaches out and rubs her thumb over Aubrey’s cheek.

Aubrey’s eyes flutter shut and Emily feels a deep exhale on her wrist.

“Sorry,” Emily rasps and clears her throat. “You’re just really beautiful.”

Aubrey rolls her eyes, but a giant smile - the one Emily thinks is the best smile in the world - breaks over her face.

“Stop,” she says and Emily pouts.

“Stop what?”

“Looking at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like - like…” Aubrey huffs, and puts her palm over Emily nose so she’s covering her face. “You know.”

Emily laughs quietly. “Okay, sorry.”

Aubrey pulls her hand away, and Emily can see she’s still smiling.

“We should get up,” Aubrey says. “So we have time to make it to breakfast.”

Emily pouts again. “Or we could stay here and pretend last night didn’t happen?” Aubrey freezes and Emily realizes what she said. “No, wait. Not - I meant - DJ Khaled’s and the bees and everything. Not - I don’t want to pretend what we did - I just meant that whole fiasco from before and oh my God - no I really want to remember _that_ it was really good and - and - ”

Aubrey cuts her off by putting her hand over Emily’s face again. “Please breathe.”

Emily moves Aubrey’s hand off her face, but keeps hold of it. “I didn’t mean me and you. Please don’t think that.”

Aubrey meets her gaze, her eyes intense and pretty. “I know. I just… had forgotten about all that other stuff for a minute.”

“Oh.”

Aubrey sighs and Emily can feel her relaxed attitude cracking open like a shell, like the stressed and alert Aubrey had just been waiting for it to break so she could emerge from the pieces.

Emily’s not sure what last night _means_ , but as Aubrey flings back the covers and leans over to grab her shirt from the floor, Emily’s afraid to bring it up.

As if she can read her thoughts, Aubrey pauses, her back still bent. Emily admires the ridges of her spine, the smoothness of her skin, but she doesn’t say anything.

“Em?”

“Yeah?”

The sound of Emily’s voice unfreezes Aubrey and she pulls her shirt over her head before turning around. Her expression is softer than Emily expected.

“I don’t know what this means for - for me and you. But thank you.”

Emily smiles, her face pressed into a pillow that smells vaguely like Aubrey. “You’re welcome. Thank _you_. I had - I really liked being with you. And I think it can mean whatever you want it to mean.”

She shrugs and Aubrey just looks at her, not saying anything. Then she finally nods.

“Okay,” she says in a quiet voice.

She reaches out and squeezes Emily’s wrist once, quickly. Then she pushes off the bed and heads into the bathroom. Emily hears the shower turn on.

She groans into the empty room again, trying to prepare for the day. Then she, too, gets up and gets dressed. She opens the bathroom door an inch, calls to Aubrey that she’s going to get ready, and, after peeking in the hall to check that none of the Bellas are watching, she sneaks down the hall and back into her room.

//

They don’t really talk just the two of them for the rest of the day, but Aubrey doesn’t really leave her side the whole morning until they get to their hotel in Italy.

Emily doesn’t know what to make of it, but at one point, Aubrey brushes their hands together, and it sends jitters up Emily’s spine.

Aubrey gives her a secret smile and Emily’s heart feels as light as if it were made of feathers.

//

Their Italy performance is in the afternoon, and after its surprising success, they decide to do a little sight-seeing and have an authentic Italian dinner.

This means Emily eats an unheard of amount of pasta. All of the Bellas are drunk on the wonder of being in Italy and a little too much wine.

As they walk back to the hotel, they’re all giggling and dancing, even Beca, and Cynthia Rose is interrogating Chloe about her crush on Chicago. Emily hangs back, just enjoying the moment and the evening.

Her gaze falls on Aubrey and she smiles. Happiness shines clearly on Aubrey’s face as her eyes shut in laughter from something Flo had just said. She’s beautiful.

_They’re all beautiful_ , Emily thinks, feeling an unexpected surge of emotion and love. Her heart aches in a bittersweet kind of way, knowing that their time together is almost up, but that she’s happier in this moment than she’s been in a long time.

Aubrey looks over her shoulder and catches Emily staring. She raises an eyebrow, her smile still wide and pretty.

Emily returns a bashful grin and hurries to catch up with the group.

//

Emily’s has her pajamas half on when there’s a knock at the door.

“Uh, hang on!” She stuffs her other leg in her sleep shorts and grabs a t-shirt from the top of her suitcase.

She peers out of the peep hole and sees Aubrey standing there, so she just lifts the shirt up to cover her boobs. All the Bellas have seen her in various states of undress so it doesn’t really concern her much.

“Hey,” she says after she pulls open the door to see Aubrey smiling at her softly. When Aubrey’s gaze flits down, her eyes bulge slightly, and her smile grows into something slightly manic.

“Uh. Hi. You’re. Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you when you were changing. I’ll just come back.”

Emily laughs and grabs Aubrey’s wrist before she can leave. “Come in, I’ll just put a shirt on. No biggie.”

Aubrey makes a kind of strangled noise in her throat, but allows Emily to pull her into the room. She unfolds the shirt she was holding and slides it over her head.

“There, all good.”

“Right,” Aubrey nods. Her cheeks still have some flush from the wine and her blue eyes look especially bright under her dark mascara. Emily’s caught up in the way Aubrey’s collarbones peek out of the top of her tank top. She can’t stop remembering how she’d kissed over them the night before, and she feels herself start to grow warm.

She looks up quickly, before she starts getting any more spontaneous ideas.

“What’s up?” She asks, trying to sound casual. She thinks she pulls it off, or maybe Aubrey’s too worked up to notice, because she won’t look Emily in the eye. Instead, she’s staring at a spot just over Emily’s shoulder.

“I just had a… proposition for you.”

Emily blinks. “A proposition?”

“Sort of.” Aubrey finally looks at her, rolling her eyes. “I suppose that word makes it seem so impersonal.”

“Uh… okay?”

Aubrey stares at Emily for an intense second, one that makes Emily’s insides crawl with nerves. She has no idea what Aubrey wants to ask her.

“I was wondering,” Aubrey begins, her eyes glomming back on to that spot over Emily’s shoulder. “If you’d like to. Do what we did. Again.”

“Oh.”

“Last night,” Aubrey clarifies.

Emily laughs nervously. “Yeah, I uh, got that.” She tilts her head to the side, studying Aubrey. “Like, uh. Right now?”

“If you’d like to.”

“Um, okay.” Emily looks around, having not really prepared for anything like this to happen. Not that she would even know how to prepare for something like this in the first place. She awkwardly grabs her dirty jeans from where they were crumpled on the bed and tosses them in the general direction of her suitcase. She hears them flump on the floor.

She looks at the bed, the sheets rumpled. She looks at Aubrey. Looks at the floor. Looks back at Aubrey.

“So.”

Aubrey’s lips twitch and then she laughs quietly. “Sorry, I guess I made that really awkward.”

Emily shrugs. “It’s probably because I’m just an all-around awkward person.”

Aubrey’s smile grows and Emily feels herself getting swept away in it. “I don’t think you are.”

“Well, that’s because we haven’t spent that much time together. Give it time.”

“So is that an indication you want to spend more time with me?” Aubrey raises an eyebrow, her fingers reaching out to play with Emily’s hair. She delicately twirls it around her fingers and Emily can hardly think.

“Uh. Ye- yeah?” She stammers out. “I mean. Yes. If you… if you want to.”

Aubrey hums thoughtfully. “Well I came here to see you.”

“Oh. Right.”

Aubrey’s moved closer, her fingers curling around Emily’s neck, her lips red and inviting. Emily’s heart stampedes against her ribcage. She can’t stop staring at Aubrey’s eyelashes, dark and long, an inch from her face.

“You have, like, really blue eyes,” she says, stating the obvious like some kind of awkward loser, but Aubrey surprisingly flushes slightly as she smiles. “Um, they’re really pretty,” Emily murmurs against Aubrey’s lips as she leans in even closer to Emily.

She starts to say something else, but she can’t because Aubrey’s closed the distance between them, her lips pressing against Emily’s. Emily squeaks, her hands coming up to grip Aubrey’s hips so she has some kind of anchor to hold on to. Her head spins and she deepens the kiss, sliding her tongue against Aubrey’s.

She doesn’t know how long they stand there kissing in the middle of the room; she just knows she wants it to continue, wants to touch Aubrey, wants Aubrey to touch her, but doesn’t want to stop kissing to do so.

Finally, she can’t take it anymore and she pulls back. “Can I take this off?” She murmurs, giving Aubrey’s tank top a rough tug.

Aubrey doesn’t answer, just stands back and pulls the fabric over her head. She grabs the bottom of Emily’s shirt and gives that a tug, too. The cool air of the room against her bare chest makes her shiver, or maybe it’s the perfect swell of Aubrey’s boobs in her bra, the smooth expanse of her stomach.

She leads Aubrey to the bed, pulling her on top of her as they lay down. Aubrey’s hair falls in Emily’s face as she leans down to reconnect their lips. Emily’s heart feels like it might beat out of her chest, she’s so overwhelmed, by Aubrey kissing her, and Aubrey’s warm skin on hers, and the smell of her hair surrounding them.

She shudders out a breath and Aubrey leans back, biting her lips. She looks so sexy and flustered, Emily can barely breathe.

“Are you okay?” Aubrey drags the thumb of one hand to press on Emily’s lower lip while her other pulls her hair over one shoulder.

“Yeah, this is just a lot.”

“Too much?” Aubrey asks, concern in her tone.

Emily lets out a shaky laugh. “No. It’s just, you and me… here in Italy… who would’ve thought?”

Aubrey glances away, the softest of smiles taking over her features. And despite all the giant smiles she’s seen on Aubrey’s face, wearing this tiny smile, she looks happier than Emily’s ever seen her.

She cups Emily’s chin in her hand, then drags the back of it softly over Emily’s cheek. Emily closes her eyes happily, her stomach doing backflips.

“Come back,” she whines and hears Aubrey laugh. Then they’re kissing again. Emily rolls them over so she can lodge her knee between Aubrey’s legs, her fingers gliding up the inside of Aubrey’s thighs.

Aubrey squirms underneath her, her face flushing red, her eyes growing hooded. A jolt of wanting surges through Emily’s core.

She wastes no time taking off Aubrey’s Nike shorts and her underwear. Then she teases her fingers through Aubrey’s wetness, gentle and questioning. Aubrey hisses, her teeth coming out to bite at her lips, her eyes fluttering closed. Her chest heaves, breathing deeply.

Emily’s sure she’s never seen anyone so beautiful.

She kisses down Aubrey’s neck, her chest, her stomach, Aubrey’s skin growing warmer the lower Emily goes.

She teases Aubrey some more with her fingers, wanting to build Aubrey up and liking the way Aubrey’s gripping her free hand like a lifeline. She may have lost feeling in the fingers of her left hand, but she doesn’t particularly care at the moment.

“Emily,” Aubrey murmurs, sending a spark of electricity through Emily’s chest. Nobody has ever said her name quite like that, throaty and wanting.

Everything in Emily stands on end, like a constant electric buzz is passing through her. She wants nothing more to stare at Aubrey, to touch Aubrey, to kiss Aubrey, and she wishes she could do it all at the same time.

When she slides her tongue through Aubrey’s folds, Aubrey grips her shoulder so hard that Emily’s sure it’s going to bruise, but she doesn’t care. Aubrey’s panting somewhere above her, a breathy moan issuing into the room when Emily sucks on her clit.

She uses the hand Aubrey’s not clutching to slide her fingers inside Aubrey, starting a rhythm that she hopes is good. Judging by the even tighter grip on her shoulder, Aubrey’s all for it.

She continues like this, slowing down and then speeding up again, building Aubrey up and keeping her on the edge, until Aubrey gasps, her whole body trembling. She clenches around Emily, her fingers pressing a death grip on her shoulder.

Then she slumps back on the bed, breathing deeply. Moments later, she releases Emily’s shoulder and pulls her up so they’re closer.

Emily rests her head next to Aubrey’s on the bed, just looking. Aubrey’s eyeliner is smudged at the edges, her cheeks red. Her eyes rove over Emily’s face, soft and open. It makes Emily feel gooey inside.

Then Aubrey frowns. “Sorry,” she murmurs, her fingers trailing over Emily’s shoulder. “I, uh, scratched you a little.”

“It’s cool,” Emily says. “How are you?”

Aubrey just stares at her. “How am I?” Then she laughs. “I’m great.”

“Cool,” Emily says again, a smile taking over her face, her insides melty.

“Cool,” Aubrey repeats in disbelief. “Yeah. Cool.” She giggles - actually giggles - and touches their lips together for the briefest of seconds.

Yeah, cool, Emily thinks as Aubrey braces herself and then heaves up on her elbows so she can trail her own fingers down Emily’s stomach until she’s teasing right where Emily wants her most. Emily focuses on Aubrey’s eyes as long as she can, but when she finally touches her, Emily can’t help but clench them shut.

Cool cool cool cool cool.

//

Emily supposes they’re friends with benefits.

They haven’t talked about it, haven’t even brought up the possibility of some kind of label. Emily’s definitely attracted to Aubrey, definitely thinks Aubrey is amazing, and definitely would say yes if Aubrey officially asked her out.

She’s not even sure Aubrey’s against that, either. They just haven’t talked about it. There’s other stuff going on and they’ve only had sex twice, but that didn’t stop Aubrey from making out with Emily in secret in the restaurant bathroom before they left for Greece, so.

Emily’s taking it as it comes. Aubrey is gorgeous and talented and smart. She likes her a lot.

But she’s not naive enough to assume that Aubrey thinks of _her_ that way, that Aubrey would want anything more than what they’re doing.

Still, Emily’s pretty sure if Aubrey asked her out, she’d say yes in a heartbeat.

//

They spend the day in Greece at the beach.

Some of them lounge on towels and tan, some take a walk down the pier. Emily plays beach volleyball with Flo and Chloe and Ashley.

Sometimes she feels eyes on her and glances over to where Aubrey, Beca, and Cynthia Rose are tanning. They all have sunglasses pulled over their eyes, but when Emily looks over, she’s pretty sure Aubrey is checking her out.

//

“I wish I could live here,” Aubrey sighs happily when their group decides to check out some of the shops on the boardwalk. Aubrey’s wistfully glancing at the blue-green water.

“I wish I could live in all the places we’ve visited,” Emily replies. She stops to admire a street artist’s works, smiling when he says hello to them.

“Yeah, but there’s just something about Greece,” Aubrey says. “It’s just… so beautiful here.”

Emily lets herself stare at Aubrey while she looks over the water. Her cheeks are red with sunburn, her hair extra blonde in the sunlight. The beach is full of beautiful people in swimsuits, Greeks with dark skin and eyes, Americans with tans, Europeans with perfect fashion.

Aubrey outshines them all.

“Yeah,” Emily agrees. “Yeah it is.”

//

Their performance that evening is another success. Hyped up on adrenaline and the rush of performing, Aubrey pulls Emily into her hotel room, connecting their lips eagerly.

Emily’s tired from the sun, and singing, and sex, and after, she falls asleep in Aubrey’s arms, not even caring that she forgot to brush her teeth.

//

She dreams that her hamster Tupac gets magically turned into a cat.

“Tupac!” She screams. “How did this happen?! Holy cow… I mean… holy cat!”

Tupac meows and lets his tail drift across her face.

“Emily,” he says in Aubrey’s voice. “Wake up.”

Emily jerks awake, her eyes fluttering open.

“Huh?”

Aubrey laughs, her thumb caressing over Emliy’s cheek. “It’s time to wake up.”

“Oh.” Emily slumps back on her pillow.

“Were you dreaming?”

Emily nods, sleepily. “Yeah, I think it was about my cat. I mean my hamster.”

Aubrey gives her a tender look. “That’s cute.”

“Mmm.” Emily yawns, stretching her back. “Do we have to go?”

“Soon.”

She peers up at Aubrey, still half-asleep. She’s sitting up in bed, her tank top back on, a paperback bent upside down on her lap. She’s looking at Emily fondly.

Emily smirks. “Were you watching me sleep?”

“No,” Aubrey scoffs. “I was reading.”

“Suuuuure. Edward Cullen.”

“Ew, don’t bring him into this.”

Emly schools her face into a neutral expression. “Why, don’t you think you guys have something in common?”

Aubrey narrows her eyes. “No.”

“You’re both pale, both very serious, both have it bad for super cute brunettes…” Emily raises an eyebrow seriously. “I dunno, honey, the similarities are endless.”

Aubrey opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. She seems stuck between flustered and indignant. It’s really cute and Emily laughs.

“Don’t you laugh,” Aubrey growls. She puts her palm in Emily’s face again, but it makes Emily laugh harder. “You stop that. Hey! I’m gonna - you just - ” Emily can’t stop laughing at Aubrey’s expression and Aubrey, unable to say exactly what she’s going to do if Emily doesn’t stop, huffs. Then she leans over and kisses Emily, her tongue sliding into Emily’s mouth.

Emily shuts up real quick.

She hums into Aubrey’s mouth, her fingers crawling up Aubrey’s back under her tank top. She feels Aubrey shiver and adjust on her arms for a better angle.

Emily deepens the kiss, attraction and want rushing through her. Aubrey scratches her fingers into Emily’s hair and Emily moans.

She moves to let her fingers slip into Aubrey’s underwear, makes it past the elastic and -

“Aubrey!”

There’s a loud knock, and they both jerk apart.

“Chloe,” Emily says with wide eyes.

“Just a second!” Aubrey yells.

“Aubrey!” Chloe calls again.

Aubrey jumps out of bed. Emily, still naked, frantically searches for her clothes.

“What are you doing? Just open the door, I’ve seen you naked like, five times. You know I don’t care.”

“Where are my pants?” Emily hisses.

“Aubreyyyyyyyyy,” Chloe singsongs.

Aubrey gives her a panicked look. “Hide.”

“Where?!”

Aubrey shoves the comforter from her bed into Emily’s arms and pushes her so she’s hidden behind the door. Then she pulls it open.

“What, Chloe?”

Chloe tssks. “Geez, Grumpy Gill. Thought you’d have been up for awhile now. What are you doing?”

“I have been. I was reading.”

Emily’s all too aware that if Chloe were to step into the room, she’d know just what Aubrey was doing. Or _who_ she was doing.

Oh God, why is this happening?

“Well, it’s almost checkout, are you ready?”

“I have to shower.”

“Well, hurry. Oh,” Chloe says. “Have you seen Emily?”

Emily can see Aubrey’s grip on the door tighten. “What makes you think I would have seen Emily?”

“Just asking. She didn’t answer her door. And you’ve been giving her the _eyes_.”

“The… the eyes?” Aubrey’s voice raises an octave and Emily wishes she could disappear, just vanish completely.

“You were _so_ checking her out at the beach yesterday. No shame, babe, I get it.”

Aubrey makes a choking sound. “I - that - you - that’s not your - we saw _you_ groping Beca in Spain, Chloe, so don’t talk to me about - ”

“Aubrey, breathe.” Chloe gives a soft laugh. “Anyway. Hurry, we’re leaving in thirty minutes.” There’s a sound that can’t be mistaken as anything other than Chloe blowing a kiss.

Then Aubrey shuts the door. Emily relaxes, the comforter still held over her body.

“Uh.” She scrunches her nose. “That was close. And awkward.”

Aubrey’s eyes are wide. She gives a nervous laugh. “Guess we better get ready.”

“Uh, right.” Emily finally finds all her clothes from the night before and pulls them back on. Aubrey’s still standing stock still in front of the door. “Guess I’ll see you in the lobby.”

Aubrey nods. Emily, feeling bold, leans down slightly and kisses Aubrey on the cheek. Then she pokes her head into the hall, checking the coast is clear, and leaves Aubrey in the room with a heavy fog of awkwardness.

//

Emily doesn’t mind that Aubrey didn’t reveal she’d been there. The Bellas are nosy and she and Aubrey hadn’t even talked about what they were doing, so why should they talk about it with the Bellas?

Still, she can’t shake that awkward tension that had swept over them as she was leaving. Would Aubrey want to stop… whatever it is they’re doing? Would she ignore Emily?

She gets her answer when they get to France. After they unpack, they all head down to the pool and to look around the hotel. DJ Khaled’s supposedly picking the winner that evening so they have the night off, and Chicago set them up at an especially nice place this time and there’s a lot of stuff to do. Amy’s off with her dad and Theo takes Beca away somewhere, so they all decide to go down to a cafe across the street from the hotel.

When they step out of the hotel and into the bright sunshine, Aubrey appears next to her. She doesn’t say anything, but she slides her hand into Emily’s and offers her a shy smile.

Emily, elated, gives her hand a squeeze, and they follow the Bellas across the street.

//

Aubrey holds her hand the whole drive to DJ Khaled’s announcement party.

She only lets go when it’s apparent that the whole thing was a ruse to kidnap them so Amy’s dad can get her money (or something???).

And at that point, Emily’s concerned with other things. Like the whole hostage thing and how they could die and whatever. God, this is just like _Die Hard_.

Cool cool cool cool cool.

//

Beca and Amy save them.

Emily has no idea how, but it involved Britney Spears choreography, a fire extinguisher, and lots of improvising.

_Die Hard_ didn’t prepare her for this! Neither did _Die Hard 2, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Live Free or Die Hard,_ or _A good Day to Die Hard._

Emily’s pretty sure she’s going to need therapy after this.

//

By the time they’re warmed up, have a heart to heart about DJ Khaled choosing Beca, and get back to their hotel, Emily is exhausted.

She’s just flopped onto her bed in her hotel room when there’s a soft knocking.

She thinks about ignoring it, but after that whole hostage crisis thing, she feels like she should answer.

Aubrey’s standing there when she pulls open the door. “Hey,” she says. “I just wanted to check if you were okay.”

Emily shrugs. “Um, I’m kind of in shock, but I think I’m okay.” She gives Aubrey a small smile. “How are you?”

Aubrey shrugs, too. “Fine given the circumstances I guess.”

Emily nods. She gives Aubrey a long look, thinking about how she doesn’t really want to be alone. “Do you wanna come in?”

“Yeah,” Aubrey says. “I do.”

She stands back to let Aubrey in. “I was just going to take a nice long nap. You’re welcome to join me.”

“It sounds so formal when you say it like that.”

“Naps are serious business.”

Aubrey snorts. “Of course.”

Emily flops back on the bed and pats the space next to her. Aubrey lies down, though with less of a flop and much more dignity.

They lay on their sides, staring at each other. Emily watches a million different emotions flit across Aubrey’s face, her forehead creasing with each passing second. Finally, she has to ask.

“What are you thinking about?”

Aubrey pauses, meeting Emily’s eyes. Then she gives Emily a small smile. “How we got here, I suppose. How life doesn’t feel real at all sometimes.”

“Mmm,” Emily nods. “The hostage thing?”

“Yes,” Aubrey says. “And also no. I was just thinking… after all that.” Her gaze turns intense, like it did when she was asking Emily to sleep with her again. “What are you doing next? After you graduate?”

Emily wasn’t expecting that. “Me? Oh. I, uh. Well pending I do the GRE, I’ve been accepted into a Master’s program at UCLA.”

“California?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.”

Aubrey frowns. Then she takes a deep breath. “Can I come with you?”

Emily blinks. “Come with me?”

“Look, I don’t know what we’ve been doing the past few days. But with you, I feel so different. Happy and safe, like I don’t need to plan a hundred steps ahead, like I can just be here in this moment, and I like it.”

Emily can’t help the smile that tugs at her lips. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Aubrey frowns. “Stop - stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like… like…” Aubrey huffs, and lifts her hand so it covers Emily’s face. “You know.”

Emily laughs, grabbing Aubrey’s hand and holding on tight. “Like you’re beautiful and I want to kiss you?”

“Ugh you’re insufferable,” Aubrey grumbles, a flush rising on her cheeks.

“Be my girlfriend, then.”

Aubrey gapes at her. Then she snorts. “Fine.”

“Cool.”

“Yeah, cool.” Aubrey rolls her eyes but snuggles up into Emily. “So can I come with you, then?”

“Yes.”

Aubrey pulls back. “Yes? Just like that? You don’t need to think about it?”

“Nope.”

“How? Why?” Aubrey squeezes Emily’s hand. “I mean I’m happy, obviously, but all this and it’s just ‘be my girlfriend, move across the country with me.’ And that’s it?”

Emily shrugs. “It feels right. I don’t have to think about it. I’ll just go with my gut and hope I don’t fall on my face.”

Aubrey laughs disbelievingly. “God.” She rolls her eyes at herself. “This - this is why I like you so much.”

“Cool,” Emily says, yawning. “I like you so much, too. Now close your eyes. It’s time for our first nap as girlfriends.”

Aubrey just looks at her, then shakes her head in wonder. “You’re crazy, Emily.”

“I know.”

Aubrey laughs. Then she presses their lips together, slow and chaste, before pulling back. By the time she shuts her eyes, Emily’s already asleep.

//

“Emily?”

“Yeah, babe?” Emily calls down the hall. She’s sorting through boxes, looking for the one with her favorite sleep shirt. She knows she should’ve packed with more organization and she prays Aubrey doesn’t try to unpack her stuff.

That will just be one big, fat _I told you so_.

“Em?” She hears Aubrey coming down the hall of her apartment. “Where do you want this frame?”

She turns as Aubrey walks into her room, a frame in her hands. Emily lets the clothes she’s holding fall back into their box and takes the frame from her girlfriend.

“Oh.” Looking down, she smiles at her own emotional face in the picture, taken just after Beca had brought them on stage for her “Freedom” performance in France. She doesn’t look too great in the picture - her eyes are red and blotchy and her face scrunched - but Aubrey’s holding her hand up to her mouth, giving her a kiss and looking at Emily like she makes the sun shine.

In the background, the Bellas all wear varying expressions of emotion from beaming smiles to tears.

Emily loves this picture, loves her Bellas.

Loves Aubrey.

She sets it on her nightstand. “There,” she says, smiling at the real Aubrey. “Now I can see your face every morning and every night.”

Aubrey gives her an amused look. “You already get to do that.”

“Oh, yeah!” Emily grins playfully and pulls Aubrey in for a kiss.

“You’re ridiculous,” Aubrey murmurs against her lips, but she lets Emily pick her up and spin her around happily. “Oof, put me down.”

“Baby?” Emily says softly, loving the happiness that washes over Aubrey’s face. She loves making Aubrey smile more than anything. “Have you seen that shirt I like to sleep in? I can’t remember where I packed it.”

Aubrey raises an eyebrow and turns to look in the nearest box. Then she lets out a huff.

“Emily, I _told_ you to organize clothes by type - you have sweats in here with work blazers. How are you going to find anything without unpacking?”

Emily laughs, tugging on Aubrey’s hand. “Guess, we’ll just have to unpack it all then.”

“Oh, _we_?”

Emily pouts, but only because she knows it makes Aubrey soft on her. When Aubrey rolls her eyes, Emily grins. Aubrey scoffs, her hand coming up to cover Emily’s face.

“Stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like I’m cute or something.”

Emily laughs. “But you are.” She takes Aubrey’s hand and gives it a kiss. “I’m glad you’re here with me.”

Aubrey smiles, her arms coming up to rest around Emily’s neck. “Me too.”

“Glad I took that step and didn’t fall on my face, then,” Emily giggles.

Aubrey gives her a long look. “Well, even if you did, I’d be there to catch you.”

Emily lets out an exaggerated gasp. “Aubrey Posen, you cheeseball.”

Aubrey scowls and releases Emily. “Kay. Good luck finding your shirt.” Then she saunters out of the room, shooting a grin at Emily over her shoulder.

Emily thinks she’s never been happier in her life.

**Author's Note:**

> as always hmu @ emilyjunk.tumblr.com. thanks for reading


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